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The term first-generation can refer to either people who were born in one country and relocated to another at a young age, or to their children born in the country they have relocated to. The term second-generation refers to children of first-generation immigrants, and thus exhibits the same ambiguity. The term 1.5 generation is a term coined for people who identify as "first generation", yet lack the necessary acculturation.

...designating a member of the first (or second, etc.) generation of a family to do something or live somewhere; spec. designating a naturalized immigrant or a descendant of immigrant parents, esp. in the United States.... (OED definition of "generation," section 6b., emphasis added)b

In the United States, among demographers and other social scientists, the term "first generation" is used to refer to foreign-born residents (excluding those born abroad of American parents).[1]

There is no universal consensus on which of these meanings is always intended.[citation needed]

The term 1.5 generation or 1.5G refers to two types of people. Individuals who immigrate to a new country before or during their early teens (Asher 2011). They earn the label the "1.5 generation" because they bring with them or maintain characteristics from their home country, meanwhile engaging in assimilation and socialization with their new country. Often times, in the case of small children, a battle of linguistic comprehension occurs between their academic language and the language spoken at home (Asher 2011). Their identity is thus, a combination of new and old culture and tradition. Sociologist Ruben Rumbaut was among the first to use the term to examine outcomes among those arriving in the United States before adolescence, but since then the term has expanded to include foreign students, as well as other unique individuals. [2]

Depending on the age of immigration, the community where they settle, extent of education in their native country, and other factors, 1.5 generation individuals identify with their countries of origin to varying degrees. However, their identification is affected by their experiences growing up in the new country. 1.5G individuals are often bilingual and find it easier to assimilate into local culture and society than people who immigrate as adults. Many 1.5 generation individuals also, become bi-cultural, combining both cultures - culture from the country of origin with the culture of the new country.

The term "second-generation" extends the concept of first-generation by one generation. As such, the term exhibits the same type of ambiguity as "first-generation," as well as additional ones.

Like "first-generation immigrant," the term "second-generation" can refer to a member of either:

The second generation of a family to inhabit, but the first natively born in, a country, or

The second generation born in a country

In the United States, among demographers and other social scientists, "second generation" refers to the U.S.-born children of foreign-born parents.[1]

The term second-generation immigrant attracts criticism due to it being an oxymoron. Namely, critics say, a "second-generation immigrant" is not an immigrant, since being "second-generation" means that the person is born in the country and the person's parents are the immigrants in question. Generation labeling immigrants is further complicated by the fact that immigrant generations may not correspond to the genealogical generations of a family. For instance, if a family of two parents and their two adult children immigrate to a new country, members in both generations of this family may be considered "first generation" by the former definition, as both parents and children were foreign-born, adult, immigrants. Likewise, if the two parents had a third child later on, this child would be of a different immigrant generation from that of its siblings. For every generation, the factor of mixed-generation marriages further convolutes the issue, as a person may have immigrants at several different levels of his or her ancestry.

These ambiguities notwithstanding, generation labeling is frequently used in parlance, news articles [1], and reference articles without deliberate clarification of birthplace or naturalization. It may or may not be possible to determine, from context, which meaning is intended.

When demographers and other social scientists in the United States use the term "second generation," they usually refer to people with one foreign-born parent. Some researchers have begun to question whether those with one native-born parent and those with no native-born parents should be lumped together, with evidence suggesting that there are significant differences in outcomes between the two groups.[3][4]

Rubén G. Rumbaut has coined the terminology "1.75 generation" and "1.25 generation" immigrants, for children who are closer to birth or full adulthood when they immigrate.[5] Children who arrive in their early childhood (ages 0 to 5) are referred to as 1.75 generation immigrants since their experiences are closer to a true 2nd-generation immigrant who was born in the Country they live in: they retain virtually no memory of their country of birth, were too young to go to school to learn to read or write in the parental language in the home country, typically learn the language of the Country they immigrate to without an accent and are almost entirely socialized there. Children who arrive in their adolescent years (ages 13-17) are referred to as 1.25 generation immigrants because their experiences are closer to the first generation of immigrants adults than to the native born second generation.[5]

Most immigrant youth tends to have higher academic accomplishment at all levels, at times even having greater levels of post-secondary education than their parents and grandparents.[6] In order to explain this phenomenon, there are several factors that are noticeable:

Immigrant children usually have more in the way of family obligation than children not born of immigrants, so they are more likely feel pressure to study seriously at school and gain the ability to provide for their relatives.[7]

Optimism--the idea that if they put in the work that they'll achieve social mobility in the host nation--is also an important factor that motivates immigrant generations to work hard and succeed.[8]

Most immigrant generations learn their mother tongue alongside English. As bilinguals, they have "advantages on all tasks especially involving conflicting attention".[9]